Intimacy with God (II) Unconditional love

I am told that the Hallmark card company one time, had gone into a certain prison and given away mother’s day cards for mother’s day. So many of the men wanted cards, that they ran out. When they tried the same for father’s day, it didn’t work, there were very few takers! The love of an earthly father it seems, is not unconditional like many a mother’s love, and not like our Heavenly Father’s love! I also know of a mother who turned her son in, and then went to visit him every day in prison. This love is unconditional too, and is in fact deeper than a “love” that enables, a “love” that covers for a him, thus enabling him to escape responsibility for his actions. As you can imagine, the relationship was somewhat strained for a while. Part of what I am trying to say here, is that unconditional love needs at times to act in such a way that may not feel like love to the one receiving it.

The mother’s love in this story is deeper, because she knew that unless and until her son took responsibility for his actions, he would continue in behaviour that was destructive both to himself and to those around him. These things always impact more than just ourselves, we do not sin in a vacuum! Of course, God’s love for us is even deeper than this mother’s love, and so include His not being an enabler. In particular He has designed reality in such a way that there are negative consequences to poor decisions (Galatians 6:7). Most of us have to come to the end of ourselves, to the place where we truly see that life is not working, before we become willing to change. In my own life, I became desperate enough to turn to and surrender to God. I became as a little child trusting God that He knows best, and to be willing to allow Him, not only to show me the right path, but also to correct me when I had gotten off it (Hebrews 12:6).

Similarly what needed to happen in the relationship between the mother and son in the above story, is that he needed to humble himself, and to open his eyes to see that his mother was only doing what was in his very best interest. Only then could there be an intimate relationship between mother and son. It’s the same with us and God. You see you can be in prison and be free, and you can be out of prison and not be free, caught up in the negative consequences of our choices. But if as little children we enter into a submissive obedient relationship with God, then through what He did on the cross, the Son will set you free, and you totally will be free (John 8: 31, 32, 36).

Father, when my sons were little I remember well how they always wanted to be with me, were eager to please me, were very teachable and did not sulk when I needed to correct them. They knew that I loved them. If my sons could be like this with me, an imperfect father, how much more does it make sense that we can have an even deeper intimate relationship with You who is perfect. And in this state of surrender we do indeed cry out Abba, daddy, Papa (Romans 8:15). We love Father because You first loved us (1 John 4:19), in particular, again when we surrender, we love You in response to Your extravagant healing love. Thank You Lord, thank You Lord, thank You Lord in Jesus name amen

Intimacy with God (I) Introduction

Jesus concludes the parable of the wine skins with the declaration “No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, “The old is better’ ” (Luke 5:36-38). At a time of crisis during my walk with Him, I came to realize that I had not really dealt with my pre-Christianaddictions, I had simply exchanged them for Christian workaholism, and obsessive thinking. But the sense of betrayal I was experiencing, together with the lies and the judgement and the rejection, were too much for me, and I reverted to my old habits. I see now that I had not yet fully developed a taste for the new wine of intimacy with Him. Oh I knew in my head that He loved me, but my heart didn’t yet know it, and the draw of the immediate but temporary relief of the old wine, was very strong. But like all counterfeits, there was no lasting satisfaction, and there was guilt and shame and no real peace or joy.

This morning I’m starting a series of blogs on the second of the three pots of cream we talked about earlier (28 September 2018), three pictures of the new wine, hearing God’s voice, intimacy with God and inner healing. They are intimately interconnected, we cannot have intimacy if we don’t talk to each other. And it is intimacy with God and His unconditional healing love that heals the emotional wounds. And the healing of our inner wounds in term leads to greater intimacy. In thinking about how to write about this, I googled “components of intimacy.” The things that came up include trust, honour, gratitude, vulnerability, mutuality, responsiveness, time and love. All of these things are soulish, related to the senses feel, touch, see. For the Christian, there also the spiritual dimension! We, being made in the image of Trinity (Genesis 1:26), are body soul and spirit.

A book I may one day write might be entitled “Thy Kingdom come on earth? You must be joking!” I mean look at it! In heaven there is no war, or hate or manipulation or rejection etc. It looks impossible. Nevertheless our task is to cooperate with Heaven and to pray it down. And it needs to start with our relationships. We can start here, we can. It seems to me however, that we cannot likely treat others better than we ourselves are treated. And what this means to me, is that I need to become more and more vitally connected to the One who treats me in spades with all of the above virtues. I need more and more to walk in my identity in Him, my identity as a beloved and precious son (Luke 15:22-24) of the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. In His embrace I find who I really am. I even get to like myself.

Father, there is a line in the song we sing “I never want to go back to my old life.” Yes it took me a while to see that the new wine is indeed better than the old. But now I see there is no comparison. The old wine left me hung over, hurting and confused, and the relief was always only temporary. I always had to wake up from the anesthetic, and the pain then always seemed worse! On the other hand, I remember Melinda Fish declaring “There are no toxic levels of the Holy Spirit!” And it’s true! Thank You Lord for Your persistence, Your patience and Your extravagant healing love. I give You all the honour and glory and praise this morning again in Jesus Name Amen

The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night… the heavens and earth will …. melt with fervent heat

While journaling this morning, the Lord brought this verse from 2 Peter 3:10 to my attention. In context Peter is reminding us that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promises, but the delay is there because He is not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance (verses 8,9). Nevertheless, the Day of the Lord will come, and I am grateful this morning for the firm foundation that is Christ. I am also grateful for the assurance He gives in His Word, that though I will have to give an account of every idle word (Matthew 12:36), and though some of my works may well be burned up, even so, I will be saved yet possibly only as by fire (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

It is not politically correct in our day, to speak of the things of which the Lord is reminding me this morning. And if and when we speak we will often be met with hostility. Part of this is the willing ignorance that Peter speaks about in this same passage (verse 5). Nevertheless, into this widespread denial, we are commissioned to be His ambassadors. He has entrusted unto us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). And it is a challenge to know how to do this in the face of widespread opposition to all things Christian. I had to learn the hard way that there are times when speaking is counterproductive. In particular, such is often the case when the other person is not listening. But how then are we to carry out our commission?

Well "There is a time to speak and a time to be silent" (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Seeing the difficulty in these last days Peter, in the context of this morning's verse asks “Seeing as how these things be what manner or men aught we to be?” He answers “You ought to live holy and godly lives” (verse 11 NIV). In particular first and foremost we need to “live such good lives among unbelievers so that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12; Matthew 5:16). And in knowing when to speak and when to be silent we need to rely on the voice of the Shepherd. I need His serenity when He tells me to be silent (especially with those I love so dearly). And I need His courage and wisdom to know what to speak when He tells me "now is the time" (James 1:19)!

Lord, Paul tells us that we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. We are the fragrance of life to those who are being saved, but a fragrance of death to those who are perishing. And who is sufficient for these things (2 Corinthians 2:15,16)? Who is sufficient indeed? The thought Lord that You might use my words or my deeds to point out to someone that “they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20) motives me to want to live a Kingdom oriented life before You. I cannot do this without You. Thank You Lord for Your lavish grace to be all that You call us to be in Jesus Name Amen

The LAST two of four keys to hearing God’s voice

Last day I used to verse “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) to talk about the fist two of Mark Virkler’s keys to hearing God’s voice. The two keys were quieting ourselves down, and turning our eyes onto Jesus. The last two keys are tuning to flow (John 7:38) and writing it down (Habakkuk 2:2a). In tuning to flow I ask the Lord every morning what He wants to say to me. I then choose to trust in faith that what comes is of Him. Even so, as I have said, anything that is radical needs to be tested and confirmed within a mutually accountable fellowship.

Knowing that I can test what comes later, allows me to get it all down without interruption. There are times when it is very, very tempting interrupt the flow, because what you are receiving does not seem right. There was a very difficult period (emotionally) in my Christian walk where I had reverted to some of my pre-Christian habits. In effect I had gone back to my old ways of dealing with my pain. In the process of pushing through to victory, there were periods of sobriety followed by a fall. In the midst of this the Lord told me one time “You are faithful darling son.” I am sure He would have said more, but I blurted out “What about ….” And He told me “I don’t remember that.” He was reminding me of the verse “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). He was telling me that when I confess and forsake my sin (even before I have full victory), He chooses not to remember. We need to be more like Him in this!

He reminded me this morning of what I used ask my grandson when he was little “Did I ever tell you that I love you?” He would say “You tell me all the time!” Well many, many times when I am journaling His voice, He tells me that He loves me, and that He is proud of me. This can be difficult to receive! Part of this is what I call “rubber heart,” because it bounces off us. I mean He loves us all, but many of us disqualify ourselves. He loves others, but me? Well yes me, and you too (John 3:16), and you and I need to choose to receive this, and to tell Him “I choose to receive this Lord, please help me to allow this to go from my head to my heart.” You see when we operate out of the heart knowledge that we are loved and unconditionally accepted (Romans 8:1), we will operate differently!

Father, You demonstrated Your love for us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And You who did not spare Your Son how shall You not with Him also freely give us all things (Romans 8:32)? Lord I am sensing this morning, that I have hardly begun to tap into all that You have already provided for me and my brothers and sisters (2 Peter 1:3,4). We need Your help Lord, I do, to live, breath and move out of our true identity in You. In Jesus Name Amen!

The first two of four keys to hearing God’s voice

To me, the first two of Mark Virkler’s keys to hearing God’s voice, quiet myself down and turn my eyes on Jesus, have become essentially seamless. I see the Biblical warrant for these two keys being contained in the command “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). And these thoughts came to mind this morning, as I sat outside on the bench in front of my house, drinking coffee, wearing my winter jacket! The light was awesome, with the sun shining almost horizontal, and the leaves just starting to turn. There was not a breath of wind, and in the stillness it was easy to quiet myself down, and I was sensing His presence (“eyes” turned to Jesus) I was indeed still, and I was knowing that He is God. And in the beauty of it all, my heart simply turned to worship.

Like all habits, when repeated over and over they become second nature. But it wasn’t always so. The first thing I had to learn to do to quieten myself down, was to write down the things my mind would remind me needed to be done. That way I would not fret that I would forget them. The next thing would be to deal with the accusations of the thief (John 10:10a). I cannot be quiet and at peace with unconfessed sin. I don’t have to be perfect, I don’t even have to have full victory over my besetting sins, I simply need to confess, to surrender and to ask for His help. It is helpful to remind myself that there is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1), and because of what Jesus did on the cross, I am welcome in His presence (Matthew 11:28).

Dealing with racing thoughts is handled by switching from left to right brain activity, and in so doing turning my eyes on Jesus. I find this through worship, and soaking. What I mean by soaking, is that I put on some of my favourite worship music, spread my hands wide inviting Him to come, then laying down and letting Him love me! I am also in the process of learning to visualize the presence of the Lord. So I can meditate on such verses as “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2,3a). I can visualize this on the screen of my mind. I can picture the stream I used to visit all the time, I can “see” green pastures along side the waters, and my restless thoughts settle down. I do need to give him time, lovers do not rush in and out of one another’s presence!

Father, I am totally convinced that if You can do this for me, You can do it for anyone. It does take effort, it does take determination and practice, but Lord it is totally worth it. In our conversation this morning on my way here, I sensed You asking me what I would choose, if I had to choose between You and the fulfillment of Your promise to me. It is no contest Lord, I choose You every time. There is no one like you Lord, You have stolen my heart and I love You in Jesus Name Amen

Our part in “Seeing (John 5:19) and Hearing” (IV) Putting safeguards in place

There are many things that can distort what we see and hear, and what we think we see and hear from God. And in his teaching Mark Virkler insists on certain safeguards. We are told that unless we are born again we cannot see the Kingdom of heaven (John 3:3), and that the mysteries of the Kingdom are given to disciples (Mark 4:11,12). So in other words firstly we need to have surrendered our lives to Christ. Secondly, since His Word is truth (John 17:17), we need a very high value for the Scriptures. I like the Intervarsity statement on this, it is that the Bible is the unique divine inspiration of God, it is entirely trustworthy and is the primary authority for faith and practice. The third safeguard is that we need to be feeding our spirits on this Word of Truth, on a daily basis.

But it is not enough to simply read. Peter warns us that the one who is not diligent, obedient and growing in Grace and maturity is “nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins” (2 Peter 1:9). Finally, in this brief review, we must be in humble mutual submission to each other (Ephesians 5:21), and in submission and obedience to our leaders, those who watch out for our souls (Hebrews 13:17). This last point (submission) is just as important as the others, since truth is suppressed by unrighteousness (Romans 1:18), because our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), because our “adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and because iron sharpens iron so we sharpen each other (Proverbs 27:17).

To say more on this last point, it is really important to bounce what we hear, and what we think we hear, off mature believers and/or our oversight. Even leaders need to be in relationships of mutual accountability. Submitting what we think we hear is especially important when what we hear is at some level radical. It is helpful to be in a mentoring relationship with someone who (a) knows the Shepherd, (b) who has a good Bible orientation, (c) can hear the voice of of the Shepherd, (d) is someone who is willing to give you time, (e) is also willing to receives council (witness Jim jones) and finally when necessary (f) is ahead in a particular area of the (key 4) journaling entry (finances, health etc.).

Father, as I write this morning my heart is grieved for those who, rejecting the above advice, are making shipwreck of their faith (1 Timothy 1:19). In light of this, is it little wonder that many in the church have shied away from hearing Your voice and prophecy? But in doing this, they (we) have allowed the Evil One to rob us of one of the precious tools You have given to facilitate intimacy, healing, strengthening, encouraging and comforting us. And I pray for anyone reading this, this morning who may be having doubts about this, that they would not dismiss it out of fear, but rather be among those who test all things. As for me, I want to thank You for Your daily rhema word to me. I cannot live without You Lord. In Jesus Name Amen

Our part in “Hearing” (III) Recognizing the “sound” of His voice

Continuing to blog on Mark Virkler’s four keys to hearing God’s voice. He answers what hearing God’s voice sounds like with “Hearing God’s voice sounds like spontaneous thoughts that bubble up and light upon your mind while, your eyes are fixed on Jesus.” The part about “while your eyes are fixed on Jesus is important. It is Mark’s second key which needs to follow the first “quieting yourself down.” There are also other things that need to be put in place to ensure that it is God we are hearing from (more next day). This morning I want to look at the phrase “spontaneous thoughts that bubble up. ” Mark also describes this as “flowing thoughts.”

The first thing to say is that the Hebrew word for prophet is Nevi which, I am told, means bubbling up. The prophet of course heard and spoke God’s words, and so essentially the prophet the prophetic utterance “bubbled up” from within. In the New Testament we read “He who believes in Me … out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Since the scripture connects water and word (Ephesians 5:26) it is not much of a stretch to see that the flow of living water can manifest itself in words.

This is Mark’s third key then, to tune to spontaneous thoughts that flow while our eyes are fixed on Jesus. It is important not to interrupt the flow, and this takes us to the fourth key, writing it down. Writing it down allows us to get the whole thing before judging what we are receiving. Without writing it down, we might be tempted to judge what we hear prematurely, before we hear the whole thing. I know this temptation first hand, especially when what I am hearing is surprising. It does, of course, need to judged, and this is part of putting safeguards in place. Knowing that we can judge it later is important, I mean we all have thoughts that come out of nowhere, that are clearly not from God.

Father, I want to thank You for your servant Mark. Thank You for the wisdom You have given him, and the simplicity of the four keys. Thank You for the many testimonies of those who have used the keys with the accompanying safeguards to come to hear your voice. Thank You for the many times the things I have heard You say in this way that have strengthened encouraged and comforted me. In Jesus Name Amen